IN THE MORNING, Tiwaz, Gareth and Doom came out to see Tracker and several younger wolflen waiting. “Cat-Sister, ready for lessons?”

She managed a wan smile. “You did not need to come fetch me, Tracker. I was just on my way.” Her smile lost some of its sadness as several of the eager youngsters captured her hands and pulled her along with happy yips.

“Impatient cubs,” Tracker explained. “Wanting play chase with Cat-Sister.” The group led her off. Doom watched the group disappear, his expression a mix of affection and concern.

Gareth watched Doom until Tiwaz was well out of sight. “You don’t approve of her running with wolflen? I heard rumors she is, ah, rather close to one of them.”

When the bard’s question and statement registered, Doom turned to level a faint frown at him. “I have no problem with her being with Tracker or spending time with the rest of the wolflen. They accepted her for who she was as a person and value her beyond her being a gladiator. They could care less that she is a shape-shifter and even let her night hunt with them as a panther.” He turned his gazed back in the direction the group had disappeared. “She needs to know she is not alone,” he stated flatly.

“But she isn’t alone,” Gareth pointed out, his words measured. “She has you.” He looked away from the expression Doom turned towards him. “I suppose it would be different in her mind.”

“She has only ever had me. Alimar kept Ti isolated. And when she had reached out to others, he made her kill them.” Doom closed his eyes, clenching his fists. “I think…no. I know she feared one day she would face me in the arena. That is why she fought so hard to overcome his compulsion spell. Killing me or watching me be killed would have destroyed her.”

“Unmitigated bastard doesn’t begin to describe your former master,” Gareth grumbled.

The gromek didn’t argue. “I wish I was enough, but this…As much as I love her, I cannot help her. I have always been the exception to the rules she believes. Kerk helped her see she wasn’t useless. The wolflen help her see she is not a monster. Tracker…that she can be loved by someone other than me. Having been Alimar’s toy and then discovering she was a shape-shifter, believing everyone in the world will kill the monster first, and ask questions later?” Doom shook his head. “You remember what happened in Crossroads.”

“I remember.” The bard looked away. “I wish I could forget.” He looked back to Doom with a heavy sigh. “Come on. Kerk said he’s a ton of work he needs to catch up on and a new apprentice to break in at the forge. Let’s go to the Wolf’s Den for a drink.”

“Little early to start drinking, isn’t it?” Doom asked blandly, falling in step with the bard.

“Never too early to drink,” the bard replied archly. With more seriousness, he added, “Always too early to get drunk. I never advocate drinking to excess.” He patted the lute across his back. “Besides, taverns and inns are the best places to hear the local news and gossip, as well as pass it along. It is how a bard survives. Get a few coins for entertaining, pass along news, gather more news. Offer teaching to local youngsters. Often times get a free room or meal.”

Doom considered. “So, if that is how you make a living, why were you in the games in Dramaden?”

Gareth’s eyes fixed on the road in the silence after the question. Finally, he said in a hushed voice as he pulled the door to the inn open, “It was strongly suggested I attend.”

Doom scowled at Gareth, smoothing his expression when one of the younger serving girls squeaked in fright and dropped her tray with a crash. Contrite, the gromek knelt to help her pick broken plates up while she apologized profusely and thanked him.

He stared after her for a moment before getting back to his feet. “I don’t know if I will ever get used to people worrying they might upset me instead of fearing me. I know I’m ugly as hell.” Before Gareth could say anything, he fixed his yellow eyes on the bard. “And what do you mean? ‘It was strongly suggested?’ What the hells is that supposed to mean?”

“I mean that when I prayed to my gods for guidance for where I should go next, I got a response.”

Doom arched a brow. “Isn’t it unusual for gods to talk to…well. Anyone?”

“Mm hm. For most people. I’m…not exactly most.” Gareth glanced around, keeping his voice low. “Most of the time, the responses I receive are little more than strong feelings. This was decidedly more direct. My patron goddess informed me I was to attend the games. No more than that. That was where I met you and Tiwaz.”

Doom’s jaw muscle jumped before he finally spoke. “So you believe these gods of yours wanted you to find us? The same dragon gods we met in Dragons Gate?” The gromek followed Gareth as the man headed further inside, away from most of the others present, taking a seat at one of the corner tables in the darker area of the huge main room.

“Yes, but I did not know at the time. Even with those they speak with more frequently, they prefer to be oblique if they speak to mortals at all and trust what needs to happen will once they nudge things in the right direction.” Gareth sighed, his gaze lowered. “They have been watching you. They always watch those that pique their interest for one reason or another.” He looked up. “What do you think about them, Doom? We never got the chance to speak more after the attack in Crossroads.”

The gromek opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again. He looked away, clenching his fists. “I don’t know. Not anymore. When we were young, I prayed to any god I heard about to protect Ti, but none answered. I hated them all for the longest time. What god would allow people like Alimar to live and let people…children…suffer as we had? Let her suffer so much?”

Both went silent as the serving girl approached and Gareth ordered ale for them both, sending her away again. He searched Doom’s face. “You do not feel the same anymore?”

“I don’t know what I feel except confused,” Doom allowed. “I am still angry about the past, but…” He took out his two dragon coins, laying them lightly on the table. “When I first found these, I suspected they represented gods because strange things had happened and odd people were around when I got them. After we reached Dragons Gate, I had no doubt. I was torn between anger for the past and gratitude for the help they had given.”

The gromek fell silent for a moment, studying the bard. “They didn’t tell you, did they?” Gareth frowned in confusion at the question. “Do you realize that Alimar had put glyphs on Tiwaz? Not on her shackles. On her. They moved inside the skin around her wrists like living things.”

“What?!” Gareth sat up sharply, eyes going wide. “I don’t even work magic and I know that’s forbidden. Even the most malevolent sects do not abide disobedience of that rule. The damage it can cause is indescribable.” His eyes darkened. “And your former master did this to her?”

The gromek nodded, his expression grim. “He has always considered himself beyond the reach of anyone’s rules. And he pretty much is. Ti never knew she was a shape-shifter because she had lost her memory during her abduction. The glyphs repressed both that ability and blinded divine eyes from her existence. What happened in Crossroads…she was just learning to control the change. Between being upset and the phase of the moon, her control slipped. If she’d all those years we were slaves to practice control, she never would have changed in front of anyone.”

He heaved a heavy sigh, covering the coins with his hand casually as a server delivered their drinks. He looked at them when the girl had left. “Tiwaz believed the glyphs could never be removed. Absolute belief that she was forever shackled by Alimar because he told her only gods could remove glyphs once inscribed.” He covered the coins again. “And she doesn’t believe in gods. Actually,” he corrected, “I think it is more she does not believe that they believe in her.

“But when we went to Dragons Gate, we encountered three different dragons.” He fell silent for a time, Gareth waiting with the utmost patience, sympathy darkening his eyes. “One removed the glyphs. I thought maybe it was because dragons are powerful, but…if the dragon that removed the glyphs was a god…” He closed his eyes. “Then Ti owes a debt to a being I am not sure we can trust.”

The bard pulled out the medallion that resembled Doom’s coins, holding it for a time. “What do you feel about them then?” He looked up, expression serious. “Not what you think. What do you feel?”

“What do I feel?” Doom frowned in thought. “Ti was absolutely certain only a god could remove the glyphs. She has never done or believed anything whimsically. Do I feel we met a god? Perhaps more than one? And they had been helping us since we fled Shurakh Arln?” He hesitated then said, “Yes. And that bothers me. A lot.”

Gareth tilted his head, looking curious. “All either Tiwaz or I know of religions is what our trainers told us of them. They demand obedience and servitude to them in the name of their gods, they see people as dirt or worse. Simple questioning warrants damnation and punishment. Having an opinion not theirs warrants worse. The way it had been described is just how Alimar treated all beneath him.” He held up his wrist, pushing his sleeve back to show the scars. “Never again.”

“Oh, dear gods, no wonder…” Gareth whispered, looking away from the physical reminder of their decade of captivity. “Look, I won’t lie to you. You and Tiwaz both deserve better than lies and platitudes. There are some temples whose priests abuse their positions and their gods do nothing. Or can do nothing. The war that broke the world devastated the gods and their realm as much as ours was damaged. Some became corrupted. And then there is the nature of gods that most don’t comprehend.”

He took a long draw from his mug, setting it down. “The Temple of the Dragonway is not like most temples. Most gods take care of only those they had evolved from. Human gods look after humans, dwarven gods look after dwarves, and so forth. But the dragon gods do not serve only dragons, but all who adhere to their philosophies. The gods sometimes need our help as much as we need theirs sometimes.”

Doom grunted. “Seems odd. Beings so powerful but they still need the help of those who are so weak.”

Gareth chuckled. “Ah, my friend, there is so much about the world you do not yet understand.” Doom glowered at him. “I can tell you if you want to learn…?” He could not help but outright laugh at the exasperated expression on the gromek’s face. “Sorry. I am just glad to find someone who wants to learn more than what they already know. Too many are content knowing what they believe pertains to themselves alone, believing nothing beyond that sphere would ever impact them.”

“I want nothing more than to learn. Anything and everything that I can. Alimar prohibited me from learning more than absolutely necessary for the purposes he used me for. My trainer risked a great deal to teach me what he could. I thought I knew a lot. Tiwaz thinks I know everything because he allowed her less education and her trainer had little reason or chance to do so.” He looked in the general direction of the wolflen settlement. “Once we were free, I realized how little I really knew and how dangerous ignorance is. And honestly, it scares me.”

Amusement fading into a more serious expression, Gareth said in a low voice, “That is why I am a bard. Ignorance terrifies me.” He held his hand out towards the gromek. “I will do what I can to help you stave off the specter of ignorance, if you wish?” Doom considered the man and accepted the handshake, his gloved hand nearly swallowing the bard’s.